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Whitey Ford Reminisces About His Yankee Days
BY BERNIE BEGLANE
Memories!
Make that more memories of Yankee Stadium.
Granted we wrote about that subject three columns ago. Memories that included Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, and Joe DiMaggio. Also, the New York Football Giants; the Notre Dame-Army rivalry; championship boxing; the appearances of Popes Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
And the memorial service for the victims of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
This time, however, the memories are those of Edward (Whitey) Ford, the Hall of Fame pitcher from Astoria with whom we spent a few hours during The Tablet’s 14th Annual Bishops’ Celebrity Golf Classic last week at the North Hills Country Club, Manhasset.
“I started playing baseball while in junior high school,” recalled Whitey, “and played on fields adjoining the old Madison Square Garden Bowl where midget auto racing and heavyweight boxing bouts were conducted.
Linda Busetti Photo
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Tablet Sports columnist Bernie Beglane reminisces with Whitey Ford at The Tablet’s 14th Annual Bishops’ Celebrity Golf Classic at the North Hills Country Club, Manhasset, Aug. 14. |
“Then I went to Manhattan Aviation High School. One summer I was with the 34th Avenue Boys Club and we reached the championship game of the old New York Journal American Classic and played at the Polo Grounds.
“Frank Torre (Joe’s brother) was on the Brooklyn team and I pitched a no-hitter through 10 innings. Don Derle doubled to right field in the 11th inning and I drove him home with a single for the only run of the game.”
Whitey and Frank met in Joe Torre’s office when the latter was managing the Yankees a few years ago.
“Frank reminded me that I struck him out four times,” said Ford.
Whitey’s pitching ability did not go unnoticed as he started receiving phone calls from the management of the then Brooklyn Dodgers, the New York Giants and the Yankees.
“The initial offers were for a $3,000 bonus,” explained Ford. “I eventually signed with the Yankees for $7,000 and my mother (Edith) could not believe there was that much money involved.”
Whitey, who was to serve in the Army early on in his playing career, reported to Butler (PA) in 1947, and was sent to Norfolk (’48) and Binghamton (’49).
“I almost made the team in 1950 spring training,” continued Ford, “but wound up in Kansas City in the American Association.
“My record was 7-2 and that got me called up. I flew from KC to Boston and pitched a couple of innings in a 4-2 loss.
“Tommy Henrich was playing first and he told me that the Boston coach was tipping off his players as to what I was throwing. Jim Turner and Eddie Lopat straightened that out and from then on it was clear sailing.”
So much so that Whitey finished with a 9-1 record and started the fourth game of the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
“We beat them four straight,” said Ford, “and I was voted a full share of the World Series.
“That share was more than my regular salary.”
Memories would not be complete without some of Whitey’s statistics.
In 16 seasons he posted a record of 236-106. Included were 45 shutouts.
Ford struck out 1,956 while walking 1,086. His lifetime ERA was 2.75.
In 1961 he topped Warren Spahn for the Cy Young Award, and two seasons later was third behind Elston Howard and Al Kaline for MVP honors in the American League.
Whitey pitched in 22 games in 11 World Series and had a 10-8 record with an ERA of 2.71.
New York won six of those titles.
More fond memories for Ford!
Yankees Honor St. Edmund Prep
St. Edmund Prep H.S., Sheepshead Bay, is a winner in the 2007-08 New York Yankees High School Blood Donor Championship. Prep students and school nurse Kathy DeMello, RN, were honored at a Yankees game this summer for their outstanding contribution and for making a difference in the lives of so many.
Last school year, DeMello coordinated two school-wide blood drives, which were held in the school gymnasium, and collected 174 pints of blood. Both events were in conjunction with the New York City Blood Center. Students received free tickets to attend a Yankees game. They and DeMello were presented with a championship banner during an on-field presentation, below. Principal John Lorenzetti was rooting for his team from the sidelines.
DeMello said she’s “very proud of the students who not only gave blood but all those who volunteered to help make the drives so successful. The students truly understand the importance of giving blood and are committed to saving lives.”
Phelps Breaks Record In Beijing
CNS Photo/Wolfgang Rattay, Reuters
Michael Phelps of the U.S. poses with his gold medal after winning the men’s 200-meter individual medley at the Olympic Games in Beijing, Aug. 15. Phelps swam his way into sporting immortality Aug. 17 by winning his eighth gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. The 23-year-old, who had already won more gold medals than any other athlete at the Olympics, broke Mark Spitz’s 1972 record of seven golds at a single Olympics.
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